The Lady Vols haven't lost to the Gamecocks since a 56-52 defeat on Jan. 23,
1980 - when Jimmy Carter was in The White House. Tennessee has won by an
average of 33.3 points during the streak, but struggled some this time.

It took until the final 10 minutes for Tennessee (15-3, 5-0 Southeastern
Conference) to wear down South Carolina (6-14, 0-6).

Stacy Booker hit a long 3-pointer that put South Carolina ahead 37-36 with
13:54 remaining. That's when Ely fueled a 16-2 run to take control.

She put back a missed shot, was fouled and converted the free throw to give
Tennessee the lead for good. She followed with a short jumper and a wide-open
3-pointer for a 44-37 lead. After Nicky Nosike's inside basket, Shanna Zolman
ended South Carolina's upset bid with consecutive 3-pointers.

When Zolman's second long-range shot swished through, the Lady Vols were
ahead 52-39 with 8:14 left.

Besides the dominating run over South Carolina, the Lady Vols have won their
last 39 SEC regular-season games dating to February 2002.

The Lady Vols missed nine of their first 12 shots and committed nine
turnovers in falling behind 19-11 on Lea Fabri's 3-pointer with 9:47 to go.

Even after an 11-0 run put Tennessee back in front, the Gamecocks wouldn't
fold. But South Carolina couldn't hang on all night against the more
experienced Lady Vols.

While Ely was leading the decisive run, the Gamecocks went 0-for-4 from the
field and 0-for-3 on free throws.